Misunderstanding
by shades of live
Summary: A short Heiji and Kazuha story, simple and fluffy. Please review!


"Hey, let me have a sip of your iced coffee." Hattori Heiji would lean over to ask of his childhood friend as they walked down a familiar street one warm summer afternoon.

"No." She'd reply offhandedly, raising the straw to her lips to drink a small sip of the liquid just to punctuate her denial all the more.

"Why not? I'm completely healthy!" His tone mildly irritated as she continued his bored glare in her general direction.

"That's not why I said 'no', I don't mind you having any, but you'll end up drinking it all!"

"I will not, ahou!"

"You will, too! Just go buy your own, _ahou!_"

"Why would I buy my own when all I want is a sip?" He'd argue, reaching a hand out for the cup while she effortlessly evaded his grasp.

"Fine!" Her tone was slightly agitated, but still more indifferent than anything else as she thrust the cup out in his general direction. Little did either of them know that the next utterance to come out of Heiji's mouth would ensure neither of them would ever take another sip of the drink:

"About time, I swear, you've got to be the worst girlfriend, ever."

Kazuha's features immediately froze as the cup slipped from her grasp spilling the watery tan liquid all over the ground.

"Damn it, Kazuha! Watch it!" Heiji barked while skillfully managing to evade being the target of the spill by mere centimeters.

"…what did you just say?" Her eyes blinked quickly to readjust herself to reality.

"I said: 'you - are- the- _worst-_ girlfriend- _ever_', ahou." An exasperated glare was plastered on his face as he spoke slowly to emphasize his point.  
However, the girl just completely stopped in her tracks unable to think or speak before finally gasping out:

"What in the _world_ would make you think I'm your girlfriend, Heiji?!" The young woman's tone was full of spite and sarcasm, although deep down the words had struck just a little too close for comfort.

"What is that supposed to mean?! I _asked_ you, ahou!" Heiji crossed his arms across his chest defensively, seriousness starting to leak into his tone now, which was not missed on Kazuha:

"Asked? What do you _think_ you're referring to, ahou?!" Her voice was simply defensive with a slight hint of nerves hanging on her every word.

"That one time!" His voice a mix of frustration and confusion, "I don't remember what we were doing exactly but… ugh, you know, Kudo and 'neechan were here!"

"I've only met 'Kudo' once!" She replied quickly, explanation doing nothing more than confusing her further.

"Right, right, 'Conan', I mean…" He gestured with his hand to try and correct his mistake as he gave a slight shake of his head. His voice continued to speed as a light nervous sweat broke out: "You remember, though. We were all out eating at that restaurant first, but we had to cut dinner short because there was a ca--"

This time it was Heiji's turn to go absolutely blank as he stopped mid-sentence and blinked. Face totally flushed and hand shaking, he reached up to rub the back of his neck in sheer embarrassment:

"…damn it; I completely forgot to ask after that case."

Kazuha was at a complete loss for words. Staring at him blankly she tried to slow her thoughts enough to say anything in response.

"…s-so you thought we were dating." The statement came off as more of a question than she would have liked. Looking up at the sky the teenage detective shrugged:

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"For how long?" She turned her head slightly as she asked, finding it very difficult to count the months back in her head with so many other thoughts racing around her brain. He simply exhaled before answering her:

"I guess about six or seven months now," Heiji reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box, offering it to his friend in amusement, "It's your anniversary present. I kinda figured I'd just forgotten and was holding onto it until you started bitching at me." There was a hint of warmth in his voice and eyes as he spoke now. Not so much at the situation at hand, but more of a fondness at the reality he had accidentally created, "Hahah, I guess I don't have to worry about that, do I?"

Out of nowhere, Kazuha's hand reached up to her mouth as she shook gently. It was clear she was trying to suppress her laughter as she took a deep breath as she finally spoke:

"You're such an ahou!" The girl shook her head and glanced up at her best friend, they were lucky to have the bond they did [whether they liked to admit it or not], otherwise little misunderstandings of this nature probably would have had much more dyer repercussions, "So I suppose this means... we're dating now?"

Heiji's face broke into a small grin as he nodded in response: "I guess so."

Not necessarily the grand romantic gesture that Kazuha had been waiting for all her life, but in a way, this just seemed to suit them better. Afterall, there would be more than ample opportunity for him to make up for it later on, with more important events [if it ever got that far, that is].

"Well, then I'm glad we were able to clear that up." Her words carrying a much deeper meaning than it appeared at first glance. Smirking in response, the Osakan boy would simply take her hand in his own as they continued walking down the street.

No matter what they said, it was bound to happen sooner or later.


End file.
